Shades of W/writerly: A Narrative Inquiry Into English Teachers' Writerly Identity Negotiation

• In Event: 79.050 - MTCC Roundtable Session 36
  In Roundtable Session: 79.050-5 - Reading, Writing, and Reflecting: Teacher Experiences in English Language Arts

Abstract

Because it is intricately connected to identity, writing—and the teaching of writing—has been a historically risky affair. Though the pedagogues of the 1960s sought to reframe the position of English teachers as writers, rather than just teachers of writing, even decades later, some teachers still resist the identity of W/writer. The four teachers in this study demonstrate a continuum of W/writerliness, viewing their personal writerly identities in ways which impact their teaching. As this narrative inquiry demonstrates, when teachers claim a W/writerly identity in their personal lives, the risk inherent in the teaching of writing is mitigated by a renewed focus on process (rather than product) and an increase in teacher agency.

Author

• Christy Goldsmith, University of Missouri - Columbia